Yesterday, Megan Hoeppner showed you how to spread some Valentine’s Day cheer with quick and easy valentines. Today, with some help from a few of our CK Dream Team members, you’ll discover fabulous ways to celebrate the love in your life through scrapbooking and sharing photos. Whether you’re into romance or not, these fun projects are sure to make your heart happy.

While Cindy Tobey made her gorgeous “Love” page to commemorate Mother’s Day, you can easily make this layout to celebrate your family on Valentine’s Day. Her color combo makes for a beautiful break from the traditional—simply combine red, pink, and black with vivid splashes of turquoise and green.

Always up for a challenge, Suzy Plantamura proves that Valentine’s Day is a great reason to scrapbook not only your family and friends but your pets too. There’s no better day to recognize those who show you unconditional love. (And take note: Suzy used yellow too.)

Feel like being extra-crafty this week? Laura Vegas’s adorable handmade photo holders will add some Valentine’s Day pizzazz to your desk. Plus, they make great gifts.

Whatever your reason to celebrate this Valentine’s Day, challenge yourself to make scrapbooking and photo-sharing a part of your holiday.

Hey there! Did you pick up your copy of the new CK yet? The February 2010 issue is so much fun—we hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. In this post, you’ll find three of my favorite insights about this issue, along with a couple of tidbits about each one.

1. Technique: Dry Emboss on Metal.Suzy Plantamura created this beautiful layout for us to showcase dry embossing on metal. Did you know metal is a little tricky to photograph? When the first scan came in, we weren’t sure all the metal was silver (the border and small heart looked like they could have been copper).

"Crazy Love" by Suzy Plantamura, as seen in the February 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

Our team tried out this technique and experimented with different types of templates (plastic and metal), styluses (paper, plastic, and metal) and surfaces (foam mat, mouse pad, notebook, and tabletop).

We discovered that metal styluses scratch the metal (see the photo below), so be sure to use paper or plastic tips when you emboss metal unless you’re going for a scratched, distressed look (which could be cool—try some fine-grit sandpaper for a brushed metal look). See more tips from Suzy and our team on page 26.

2. Framed Chalkboard in the “Tips & Tricks” column. Love the pretty, pink frame below? We picked it up from Ikea, and it was originally black. While we loved the shape, we thought the color made it look a little gothic, so we recolored it with spray paint. If you try this coloring style, be sure to buy spray paint specially formulated to work on plastic, such as the Fusion for Plastic paint from Krylon. You might also buy a primer for plastic to cover the frame before you paint. If you look closely at ours, you can see some of the black through the pink paint (luckily, it works and makes the frame look like it’s straight out of a chic boutique). We decided to leave it with just one coat of paint because we loved the look. If the pink is a little too bold for you, try painting it white, antique white, or turquoise.

3. Hot Spot Trend: Gray-Based Pastels. We’re always on the lookout for trends that translate well to scrapbook pages and deliver a cool, current look. This month’s trend is particularly appealing because even though the main focus is color, it’s also very much about texture.

Notice the soft, sheer, and shiny materials in the above images (a snippet of our research) and how Deena Wuest’s gorgeous layout incorporates both color and texture.

"In the Stillness" by Deena Wuest, as seen in the February 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

Giveaway Time

What were your favorite items in the February issue? Leave a comment on this post by Friday, January 15, 2010, and you could be one of three lucky winners to receive a sampling of some of love-themed scrapbooking products. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the issue.

Hi, I’m Suzy Plantamura, a member of CK’s Dream Team. I’m a kid at heart, and I love to color! My purse always has markers in it for my girls and me to draw and color with any time we’re sitting still (at church, at restaurants, on long drives, and more). I draw the pictures, and the girls stay quiet while they color in the pictures!

Markers are a perfect way to express creativity and add a bit of personality to scrapbook projects as well. For example, I made this “Elf Obsession” layout primarily with just cardstock and markers.

Techniques on This Layout:
I went a little crazy with markers on this layout, but it was so fun to make! Here are a few techniques I used:

* I drew the border on the layout with markers and then cut around its edges.

Notice the drawn border, the glittered letters, and the colored elves.

* I customized title letters by cutting them out of cardstock with the Slice by Making Memories, and then I added dots with a Gelly Roll pen. The pens are slow drying, so I added glitter to the dots while they were still wet.

* I outlined my photos with two colors of markers.

* I love elves, and my girls and I drew and colored them throughout the holiday season. I added a pocket to the back of my layout to include all our drawings.

* I used a black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie to draw the elves on cardstock, and I colored them in with Gelly Roll pens by Sakura—they are so fun to work with and glide on for perfect coverage! To make a color softer (such as when coloring skin tones), you can just use your finger to smear the color around.More Techniques

The next layout I made also uses markers in many spots—see if you can find them all!

Did you find them all? Check the list here:
* First, I outlined the entire page with a silver Sharpie and outlined my photos with a white Uni-ball pen.

* I added small, white snowflakes to my title letters with the Uni-ball as well.

* I colored the edges of the transparencies with Copic markers.

* I added color to the edges of my punched borders with a pink marker.

* I colored acrylic snowflakes with markers to match my page.

Color Acrylic Accents

Follow these step-by-step instructions to color your own acrylic accents:
1. Remove plastic covering from both sides of an acrylic accent (if applicable).
2. Color one side of the snowflake with two colors of Copic markers, adding a lighter color over the entire accent and a darker color on just the edges. 3. Use a silver pen to draw lines on the same side of the snowflake. 4. If you make any mistakes and want to remove color, use the Copic Colorless Blender pen—it removes even Sharpie ink!
5. Turn snowflake over and use a white pen to add details to the front of the accent.

6. Tie a knot in a ribbon and pull it through the center of the accent; attach it to the layout with sheer adhesive.

My Favorite Pens

Here are some of my favorite markers and what I use them for:

* Uni-ball Signo by Newell Rubbermaid: The white Uni-ball is (in my opinion) the best white marker! I use it to journal, outline photos, and add details to embellishments. It is slow drying, so you can add glitter to it or emboss with it.
* Pigma Micron by Sakura and Ultra Fine Point Sharpie by Newell Rubbermaid: I use these two markers for journaling. The Pigma Micron pen comes in different tip sizes (I use the 05 style) and are pigment ink that is waterproof. The Sharpie is also permanent and great for use on transparencies or slick surfaces.
* Copic Markers: These pens are alcohol-based pigment ink, refillable, and will cover anything including metal, transparencies, ribbon, and acrylic. They come in tons of colors and different tips, with one tip on each end of the pens.
* Zig Writers by EK Success: These pens come in 48 colors and are pigment-based ink that is waterproof. I use the fine tip to journal and the thicker tip to color in items.
* Glaze, Soufflé, and Gelly Roll by Sakura: These markers are so much fun! They come in numerous colors and types of ink. I use them for coloring, because they blend well and smear great for lighter application. Glaze and Soufflé pens are slow drying, so you can use them to add glitter to or emboss a project.
* Stampin’ Write by Stampin’ Up!: These markers are great for coloring in designs using the brush tips. They have water-based dye ink, so although they have a fine tip, I don’t use them for journaling.
* Silver- and Gold-Leafing Pens by Krylon: These pens are fun for holiday projects! I use them to outline my pages or pictures, and they adhere well to any surface. The Sharpie Metallic markers also work great on slick surfaces.

I hope this blog post motivates you to pull out your markers and use them to add a bit of creativity to your scrapbook pages and craft projects. Embrace the kid in you, and have fun coloring!

—Suzy Plantamura

Free Font Friday

Don’t let thoughts of a several goals for the new year stress you out. Instead, enjoy a relaxed feel with the CK Easy Goin’ font available for free download as part of Creating Keepsakes’ Free Font Friday. You’ll find a new free font available next Friday (and every Friday) as well.

With the world economy the way it is, many of us have resolved to save more money or, inversely, spend less money as part of our new year’s resolutions. But many of us also have a goal to scrap more this year. Think these two worthy goals can’t coexist on your new year’s resolutions list? They can! And happily too. LetCreating Keepsakesshow you how you can create more without spending more: just check out two of the great articles in our January 2010 issue.

Fast, Frugal & Fabulous

“Fast, Frugal & Fabulous” will help you save both time and money while still creating great pages. Contributing designers Allison Davis and Brigid Gonzalez show us two examples.

"Frosty Fun" by Allison Davis, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

"Hot Chocolate" by Brigid Gonzalez, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

Make the Most of Leftovers

Once you’ve stored up some fast and frugal ideas from that article, for additional fabulous ideas turn to one of our new columns for 2010: “Make the Most of Leftovers.” In this column, you’ll learn how to make the most of your leftover scrapbooking supplies. Every month, we’ll feature a different contributor using a variety of products in new, surprising ways. In the January issue, Suzy Plantamura shows you how to use leftover paper, sticker negatives, and pages from your journal to add surprising and fun details to your layouts—all without spending a cent.

"CHA Winter" by Suzy Plantamura, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

So if you’re one of the many scrapbookers who want to save money and still create more layouts than ever this year, let CK help you out! We hope you enjoy our January issue and all the new columns it contains.

If you have a great use for your leftover supplies, we’d love to hear from you. Shoot us an e-mail at editorial@creatingkeepsakes.com, and put “Make the Most of Leftovers” in the subject line.

Working on the December issue of the magazine has had me in the holiday spirit for the last several months. (We started working on the issue in July!) Now that holiday music fills the airwaves of Salt Lake City 24/7, that holiday feeling is getting even stronger.

That’s why I couldn’t help but do something festive for our inside look at the December issue of Creating Keepsakes—and the 12 days of Christmas continually came to mind. But rather than spread out this post for nearly two weeks, you get all 12 gifts in one post—a sneak peek at the 12 favorite layouts from our editorial staff. To add even more festivity to the post, you can always listen to this while you enjoy reading the reasons we love each layout so much!

Oh, and be sure to check out all the exclusive online articles for December we have waiting for you here. You can even enter to win a free advent calendar personalized with your own family members!

Without further ado, here are our team’s favorite layouts from the December issue.

“Amanda Probst has a great eye for fonts, and I can’t stop looking at her title treatment on this layout. The colors stand out. The fonts look great together and are readable but unique. It’s so clever how she uses a snippet of conversation to frame her title and photos on the left page of her layout.” —Lori Fairbanks, product editor

“This layout is so sweet and sassy. I can’t get enough of Lori Anderson’s adorable pictures and cute use of type.” —Neko Carrillo, senior designer

“Kitschy” by Cindy Tobey in “Tips & Tricks”

“The tree accent is so unexpected. Cindy Tobey made kitschy work for her! I love it.” —Erin Bayless, creative director

“A Few of Our Christmas Favorites” by Deena Wuest in “Festive Techniques for Trimming the Tree”

“Deena Wuest’s clean and simple design balanced with the clever tree made of photos is so fresh, festive and innovative.” —Jennafer Martin, editor-in-chief

“Playing with Snow” by Suzy Plantamura in “Mandy’s Challenge”

“Suzy Plantamura’s title treatment is so clever—she cut her letters by hand and then stamped on them with the letters ‘S,’ ‘N,’ ‘O’ and ‘W,’ respectively.” —Brittany Beattie, online senior editor

“January” by Kelly Goree in “Instant Gift Albums”

“I love how the design of this layout fits so many photos without sacrificing room for embellishments. Plus, each accent Kelly Goree used enhances the feel of the photos.” —Lori Anderson, online managing editor

“I like how Julie DeGuia fit so many photos on her layout and still kept it clean. I always take hundreds of photos on Christmas and then wonder how to scrapbook them all.” —Lara Penrod, senior editor

“Roll with It” by Kayleigh Wiles in “Reader Gallery”

“Kayleigh Wiles’s page has great flow despite how the focal point is in a small space. Plus, the beautiful script at the bottom adds charm to the flow.” —Dorathy Gilchrist, associate editor

"2008 Review" by Maggie Holmes in "Scrapbook a Year's Worth of Memories in One Night"

“Maggie Holmes managed to capture an entire year’s worth of memorable events on one layout while still creating a clean, easy-to-follow design—not always an easy task. I love how the white space balances out the fun patterns and whimsical details while still keeping her photos the focus.” —Megan Hoeppner, creative editor

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Prize Giveaway

What would this holiday celebration be without a gift? Leave a comment by Monday, November 16 at 9:00 a.m. EST, and let us know what your favorite layout is from the December issue for a chance to win this prize package or other December-related goodies.

With our December 2009 issue already out and our January 2010 issue right around the corner (can you believe that?), it’s time to announce our 2010 Dream Team. This talented group of 10 women will bring you fresh designs in every 2010 issue of our magazine, as well as act as stellar magazine representatives at various events and activities.

Let’s get to their names and faces (and a few get-to-know-you questions), shall we? Drum roll, please . . .

2. What is your favorite technique? Stitching, either by hand or machine. A close second would be painting.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Buttons or decorative brads. It would be so hard for me to choose just one type, though.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I started paper scrapbooking in 2000, shortly after my first daughter was born. I was actually one of those people who swore I would never try digital scrapbooking. Ha. Can you imagine? It was five years later when I realized I was drafting every layout on the computer and using it to design and print my text. Piecing everything together manually turned into the last step, as if it were almost an afterthought. Finally, when my toddler ate half a layout and repeatedly date-stamped his shirt, I reluctantly walked through a Photoshop tutorial. I completed my first digital layout in 2005, and I was completely and utterly in love. I still thank my then-destructive two-year-old son for helping me find my passion.

2. What is your favorite technique? I don’t know if it’s officially a “technique,” but I love using bold typography on my layouts. The fact that you can create art using just letters and numbers is so fascinating to me. Honestly, I get excited over the placement of text. (I’m still not sure if I should be alarmed by that or not.) While I love fonts and have over 1,000 of them on my computer, I use the same journaling font on around 90% of my pages. At first, I seriously thought I needed a support group. I’ve since embraced it and actually found that using the same font provides a sense of continuity in my albums. Hmm. Who knew?

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Interesting question. Since most of my layouts are digital, I am going to claim the “digital brush” to be an embellishment. Brushes add so much to a layout and can range from graphic and bold to soft and subtle. I love the flexibility and freedom they provide. You can adjust the color, size, opacity and blend mode. You can combine them, delete portions . . . the list goes on. It’s complete creative control. I love that!

4.Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere. While I love to be inspired by clever design found in advertisements, books, billboards, movie posters and CD covers, I also find myself being inspired by the small things. An unusual color scheme found on a candy wrapper, the texture of a blanket or a spoken phrase heard over the radio have all sparked scrapbook layouts.

6.What do you like most about scrapbooking?I love the fact that this amazing hobby allows me to combine my passion for my family with my passion for design. I love that it provides a creative outlet where I’m free to try cool, new things, to experiment and to play. But mostly, I love what it allows me to leave for my family. It’s more than documenting what they wore for Halloween or what they received for their birthdays. Granted, that’s important information. But even more so I want them to know how much they are loved. I have always considered each layout to be a “love note” that just happens to contain a sprinkling of life events. To me, that’s what scrapbooking is all about. And that’s why I love it.

2. What is your favorite technique? Anything using foam adhesive. I love the depth and dimension it adds to pages.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? The one thing I can’t do without is patterned paper. I love mixing different colors and patterns and finding funky combinations.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Home-design blogs and ads on Nick Jr. (Seriously, there is some great stuff there.)

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Layered, fun and a little whimsical.

6.What do you like most about scrapbooking? I like that I’m not only doing something I love, but I’m actually being productive by documenting my family’s story.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? Nearly five years. I started when my little boy was six months old. I wanted to journal his life in a creative, meaningful way.

2. What is your favorite technique? Coming from a fashion background, I love stitching and using fabric. Paper crafting and creating my own embellishments also make the list.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Alphas, definitely alphas.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Fashion, craft world, photography and interior design.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Feminine with a touch of whimsy.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that it satisfies me on so many levels: my need for a creative outlet, my love of writing and my interest in photography. Above all, the most important reason is to leave a legacy for my children.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I have scrapbooked for about 14 years now. I started a year before my oldest daughter was born.

2. What is your favorite technique? Collaging is a technique, right? I love to collage my layouts together–whether it’s making photo collages or just arranging my photos and patterned papers into a collaged look to fill up the page. It’s like piecing together a puzzle, and I just love arranging things until they fit together to my liking.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? This really isn’t fair to all the other fabulous embellishments out there, but I would have to pick ribbon. The majority of my layouts have ribbon used in one way or another. Since ribbon can be used in so many ways, I never get bored with it.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? My main inspiration comes from either my photos or product. Great photos can be the starting point for so many layouts. If the photos don’t inspire me, then most likely product will. I’m very product driven, and I will often create layouts just because I want to use certain products or papers, without even knowing what photos I am going to use. So my layouts have been known to start with photos or end with photos. Both ways work for me.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? My style is definitely clean and linear, with a lot of straight lines. I gravitate toward bright, fun colors, and I love to use many photos on my layouts. I’m also a big fan of embellishments, and I love to find the perfect amount of fun “stuff” to complete my layouts.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that I’m recording memories and events. Just by looking at their scrapbook albums, my girls will always know what happened in our lives. But I think what I love most about scrapbooking is the creative release it gives me. I spend most of my days doing mundane, everyday things over and over. So I feel my happiest when I get some creative time every day to play with paper and embellishments and to have something pretty to show for my time at the end.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I started back in high school and have been hooked ever since!

2. What is your favorite technique? Right now my favorite technique is color misting. I love to use masks, stencils and anything I can get my hands on that will combine with the color mists to make a cool effect!

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? My first answer would be patterned paper, but I guess that isn’t really an embellishment. Assuming I can’t use patterned paper, I would say chipboard. You can do anything with chipboard and customize it to work with any layout.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere! Seriously, I am always thinking in creative mode, and I see everything around me—nature, fashion, type, ads, magazines, home decor, photography, etc. Somehow it all mixes and combines in my head and eventually translates into what I create.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Eclectic for sure. I love to mix things–different colors, different patterns and different mediums. I hardly ever use items made to match. Instead, I use bits and pieces from different lines and manufacturers. Combining everything together is where the magic happens for me.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love two things about scrapbooking. I love that I’m capturing and recording our family story. Our lives pass by so quickly, and I can’t imagine not having all my albums to look back on. The second thing I love is the creative process and the fulfillment and joy I get from scrapbooking. It just feels great to pull all these beautiful products and mediums together to make something that is so unique and meaningful to my family and me.

Sara Winnick

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I’ve been scrapbooking since my daughter Anna was born in 2002–seven and one-half years!

2. What is your favorite technique? It’s impossible to choose just one! I have a thing for clear embossing, but I also love piecing together various elements to create cool titles.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Only one? It’s a toss-up between chipboard hearts from Heidi Swapp for Advantus and Flair from American Crafts.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration?Real Simple magazine never fails me. 🙂

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? I love bold colors and stripes, so I often use them on my pages.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love creating new pages, but there’s nothing quite like flipping through old layouts remembering. I scrapbook for so many reasons, but to remember is the biggest reason I love this hobby.

2. What is your favorite technique? I love to machine-stitch and sew little tidbits to my pages.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Hmmmmmm. That’s tough! I’d probably have to go with rhinestone brads from American Crafts–they are a current favorite of mine!

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Home decorating magazines, various favorite websites and storefront displays.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Clean and colorful with a few fun twists thrown in!

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that scrapbooking has become my “job” and that it allows me to stay at home with my toddler-aged son, while at the same time allowing me to preserve my family’s photos and memories.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I’ve been scrapping forever. I made scrapbooks in high school with memorabilia, cards, schoolwork, etc. The only difference was they didn’t have any pictures! Once I had Sophie (who is now ten), I started scrapping the way I do now, with lots of photos and journaling.

2. What is your favorite technique? Anything that includes markers–I love hand journaling, doodling, adding borders or coloring in stamped images. Markers are so much fun!

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Probably ribbon—I can’t seem to make a layout without it.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? I don’t spend a lot of time getting inspired. As soon as I see pictures and products, I feel ready to go! When I make the time, I find inspiration everywhere! Catalogs, magazines, books, posters, nature, fashion, home decor–it all speaks to me! If I really wanted to get inspired, I would blog hop more often. Again, time prohibits my ability to do this, but there are so many online resources available to inspire us scrappers!

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? I’d like to say whimsical, but I don’t always feel that from my pages. But I try! My mathematical mind wants things neat, tidy and aligned, but my creative side wants things messy and artistic. I struggle to balance the two. I wish I could scrap more freely without any constraints!

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? There is nothing I don’t like about scrapbooking. I like every little bit of it–from starting with buying products to taking the photos to designing the pages. It’s all soooooo fun! There’s nothing more fun to me than getting a new box of products (especially if they’re free!) and sorting them all and organizing them. It’s pure heaven for this girl!

1. How long have you scrapbooked? Forever! I remember helpling my mom when I was a little girl. We used rubber cement (yikes!!) to glue school papers, birthday cards, etc. into a big, green scrapbook. I made my own high-school scrapbook in a magnetic photo album (yikes again!). After I married, I discovered Pebbles in My Pocket on my lunch break one day. I’ve been scrapbooking (safely) almost every day since then!

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking?I really enjoy being creative, but I think my favorite part is seeing my kids enjoy the pages in their scrapbooks. I’m glad they’ll always have a record of the cute things, fun events and interesting family stories from their childhoods.

***

We’re thrilled to have each of these talented gals on our CK Dream Team for the coming year. They have already brought so much to our magazine and are sure to inspire you in the year to come.

Thanks to Our Dream Team Sponsors
To get their CK year off to an awesome start, we sent each of these gals a lovely welcome gift provided by our 2010 Dream Team sponsors. A great big thank-you goes out to the following incredible companies:

A New Contributing WriterIn addition to announcing our Dream Team, we have a talented new contributing writer to announce. Mou Saha, a wonderful member of our 2009 Dream Team, has joined our writer roster. We’re delighted to have her working with us in this capacity next year! Congrats, Mou!

A Note from YouNow, please join us in welcoming our newest creative crew by leaving a comment. You’re welcome to suggest ideas you’d like to see them cover in the year ahead, or you can simply give them a happy e-hello. Either way, we know they’ll love hearing from you!

Hi there, blog readers! What do you get if you mix a shiny new BMW and the kitchen sink? I don’t know, but I’d love to find out! Mixing amazing new products with already-have-lying around-the-house items can be so much fun. But since everyday objects aren’t necessarily made with crafters in mind, one thing I rely on is good adhesive—something that will make my item attach exactly the way I want, perfect look included.

I’ve found that some hard-to-adhere items include:

fabric

vellum or clear components

ribbon

metal

Fabric

Maggie Holmes solved one of these problems in her You layout,shown on page 94 of the October issue ofCreating Keepsakes magazine. Notice that she has included fabric squares with a multipurpose adhesive, such as Helmar’s Craft Glue, in this cute fall-themed layout. Fabric adhesive is available in both liquid and spray forms as well as temporary and permanent forms, so be sure to read the back of the bottle carefully when you make your selections.

Tip:Use fabric adhesive to prevent fabric edges from fraying. Dab a little around the edges of your piece, and the fibers will stay put.

Vellum or clear components

What do you do when the product you are using is see-through? Suzy Plantamura used a spray adhesive which dries clear to keep her patterned transparency in place on her Glamour Girllayout, also in the October 2009 issue, page 95. Notice that there is no adhesive glare competing with the sweet photos and the bling.

Tip: Another option to securing see-through items is to use a glue dot and place a fun embellishment (like a flower or a chipboard shape) on top of the transparency to hide the adhesive.

Metal

I took the challenge on myself to see just how far I could take my adhesive with metal. In this ‘for the mechanic in your life’ themed card I included nails and a thick double-sided screwdriver head. I really wanted to know if that head could be made to hold.

I figured a liquid adhesive, such as Aleen’s Tacky Glue, was a must for this type of job. When the card was dry, I shook it and shook it. I’m pretty sure that after an earthquake that metal piece will still be found glued to its paper.

Ribbon

In this card I also played with ribbon. I figured that a tape or roller adhesive would have the real stick-to-it power I needed while keeping a bumpy, wet look out of the picture. I chose double-sided scrapbooking tape for both my thick and thin ribbon. Not only did it go on easily and smoothly, but it kept both ribbons in place, regardless of weight.

Tip:When selecting a glue for ribbon, be sure to select a glue with enough stick-power. Therm O Web has some fun options in varying sizes. Perfect for lots of different sizes and types of ribbons!

So while combining BMWs and kitchen sinks may require lots of duct tape and super glue (and some muscle action!), completing a scrapbook page made with accents of many different materials can be easy and fun if you have the right adhesive.

Tips from the front lines:

*Reinforce your stickers as needed with extra adhesive. This is especially good if your sticker has lost its sticky due to repositioning or an encounter with a toddler or pet!

*If you want a brad in your layout but don’t want to punch it through the paper (maybe you have something on the other side that can’t have a hole and brad legs sticking through), remove the prongs from the brad and use small dimensional adhesive squares, such as these from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L. You get the same look and texture without disturbing the other side of the paper.

Dorathy Gilchrist, Associate Editor

P. S. Thanks for the warm welcome last week. I loved hearing from you. I think I’ll stick around!

Welcome back for this month’s edition of “An Insider’s Look.” The September issue of Creating Keepsakes was so fun to put together because we all love the back-to-school theme—it’s such an exciting time of year with the new pencils, new classes, and even new schools. I’ll be heading back to school this fall to start a graduate degree, so this issue makes me even more excited than normal! It makes me want to go shopping for new school clothes and notebooks, but I have so many fun insights to share with you about this issue, so let’s get started.

Let’s start with the cover. This fun layout by Cindy Tobey has many techniques you can try on your pages. Make a number 2 pencil into something fun. Here, Cindy transformed the pencil into a branch by adding leaves and a cute owl. She also explains how she created the chalkboard effect on her blog. Check it out, and try it on one of your school layouts.

Sometimes, we call on our talented contributors to create more than layouts for us. On page 69, you’ll see this adorable art on the opening page for the article “Moving up a Grade.” This was created by Suzy Plantamura.

Next, I hope you loved Kelly Purkey’s article “Hot Fall Trends” as much as I did. It’s exciting to see some of this fall’s hottest fashion trends applied to scrapbooking. Beth Opel collaborated with Kelly to decide on which trends to feature. Then our graphic designers decided they would like to photograph a pair of brand new shoes for the opening page. It didn’t take Beth long to agree to provide the new shoes for the shot. They’re now happily sitting in her closet, waiting for fall to come.

Last up this month, I’d like to tell you a little more about the Tamron lens (AF18-270mm VC) that was featured in “Cool Things” this month (page 122). It’s the world’s first 15X zoom lens, and it’s a great all-in-one lens if you’re looking for the perfect complement to your DSLR camera (for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras). It also features Vibration Compensation, which is an anti-shake mechanism. This allows you to take blur-free photos up to 4 stops slower than usual. Just think of the shots you can get from sunrise to sunset!

Here’s the most exciting part: Tamron is giving away one of these lenses (valued at $629) to a lucky CK reader! If you’d like a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post with what you loved about the September issue of CK or how you would find the Tamron lens useful in your photography. Check the “giveaways” tab at the top of the blog on Friday, August 28 to see if you’re the winner!

Hello fellow blog readers! My name is Suzy Plantamura and I am a member of the CK Dream Team. Today I am going to show you a fun technique for covering chipboard to use for titles. When I first saw naked chipboard, I was intimidated by how to use it. I can’t even figure out how to use my remote control for the TV, so how would I ever figure out how to make chipboard look appealing on a layout?

With a little practice trying different techniques, I came up with this one that gave me the results I was looking for-bright, colorful, fast and easy!

I’m going to cover chipboard words from a Maya Road keychain (only $1.00 for four words!), which are the perfect size for titles on layouts.

The supplies needed for this project are paint, gloss medium, markers with brush tips, ultra fine point sharpies and rhinestones or ribbon.

2. Use two brush tip markers of the same color, one lighter and one darker. Apply the darker color to the outside edges of the words; then apply the lighter color inside the darker color to blend and shade the edges. You can also try using different color markers to make lines and dots on the letters instead of keeping them all one color.

3. Use a fine-point Sharpie or a white gel pen, outline the letters.

4. Apply a coat of gloss medium to seal the titles. (This step is optional.)

5. Thread ribbon through the holes from the keychain or apply rhinestones to cover the holes.

See what I mean? Quick, easy and fun! Below are two layouts I made using these words for titles.

I hope you have fun creating unique colorful titles for your layouts. And remember that naked chipboard (and remote controls) are much easier to use then you ever expected! Just jump in and have some fun – happy creating!

Happy days are here again! Have you heard the amazing news? The Creating Keepsakes team is relocating our offices to Hawaii.

The decision was made after a brainstorming meeting to discuss ways of raising morale and boosting productivity. A psychologist visited our offices, interviewed the staff and determined that a change of scenery was in order. Since our own Mr. Brian Tippetts (CK editor-in-chief) used to call the Aloha State home, this felt like an obvious move to make.